Interests

Program

Hi, first of all pardon me for anypresumptuous remarks. I am trying to understand the process for graduate school admission.
Will an undergraduate student be in disadvantage with above-average/good (not extraordinary) credentials to get into Caltech, MIT, or Stanford for Grad school, if he/she completes Bachelor's from a school that's Top<10 in aerospace-ranking(usnews) for Undergraduate and Graduate, but a Top<=30 in overall-engineering graduate school ranking, and 110 in National College ranking by UsNews?
I know that a high GPA, an internship/research experience here and there may look good, but the competition to get into these top graduate programs are so cutthroat on a global scale that I here students always say you need a bit of luck as well.
How much does quality of peers where the student completed the bachelor's degree matter to the Aerospace department/academics that evaluate applications for their respective graduate schools in Caltech, Stanford, MIT?
I see a lot of incoming grad students are from the Undergraduate student body of their (MIT, Stanford, Caltech) own.
I assume a valedictorian with an national fellowship like Goldwater, Fullbright, or NSF from a unbeknownst engibeering program will have better shots at those programs at CMS(Caltech, MIT, and Stanford), but I want to know the average of that bell curve, not the exceptions.
It would really hurt to see a mere chance of competing being mitigated from the get-go because of the ranking as it shows the quality of students academic credentials.
Thank you for any advice and insights.

Has anyone heard from the Fall 2020 MIT CEE PhD program yet. So far there are no stats regarding this on gradcafe, and also, there is no information regarding the number of students that were accepted last year into this program.

Hello everyone.
I have been accepted to two really great physics schools for my Ph.D. - MIT and Princeton. However, the admission to MIT is through the EECS department’s applied physics route while Princeton is just traditional physics (I also applied to MIT’s physics program but have not heard back from them. Considering all the acceptances that were sent out on Friday, I will assume that I have been rejected).
My area of focus at the current moment is experimental condensed matter (CME) and quantum computing (QC). In this respect, MIT is stronger, but I am anxious about how the decision might affect a career path in academia.
Ultimately, I want to be a professor of physics somewhere. I do NOT want to be a professor of engineering (I don’t have anything against engineers, I just would prefer to teach pure physics topics over engineering topics). Consequently, I don’t want an applied physics degree if it is going to significantly hurt my chances of getting a great physics postdoc or teaching position in the future, even if the degree is from MIT.
I should also mention that I’m not entirely set on CME/QC - I very much enjoy these topics and most of my experience is in these areas, but I also have interests elsewhere. In particular, atomic physics (AMO, both experimental and theoretical) as well as condensed matter theory (CMT) seem fascinating to me. It does not seem likely that, if I were to do applied physics at MIT, I would be able to study theory. I’m sure I could squeeze in experimental AMO though. On the other hand, Princeton excels in theory altogether.
As a disclaimer, I do not yet know of all of the academic restrictions at MIT’s applied physics route. That is, I don’t know whether or not I would be allowed to take pure physics courses (e.g., E&M, quantum, QFT if I go into CMT, etc) as an EECS student. This probably doesn’t matter too much if I go into experiment, but I better have access to these classes if I decide to go into theory (assuming I can even work with theorists as an EECS student).
Lastly, I don’t know anything about how happy Princeton’s graduate students are versus MIT’s graduate students are, but this is obviously a big factor into where I go (how will I be able to do great research if I’m miserable?)
Thank you you in advance for helping me come to a decision!

I am an international applicant (Indian).
Mechanical engineering undergrad and I wanna apply for aerospace engineering masters. I have solid research experience. I am working on a journal paper. But I will not know anything regarding acceptance/rejection before the application deadlines. Which means I probably can't fill it in my application.
My GPA is 8.53/10.0. I am in the top 20 of my class of 132. And an institute academic merit scholar. (i.e. full scholarship based on academic performance)
Test scores: GRE general test 330/340 (164q (87th percentile); 166v (98th percentile); 5awa) TOEFL 118/120
LoRs: I will have very strong LoRs from two research project guides and one faculty adviser for non-academic research/ projects.
But the lack of publications is really stressing me out.
School list: For M.S. in Aerospace. All schools have been selected based on availability of profs/ labs in my research area of interest.
Reach: Stanford, M.I.T, Princeton, CalTech ( Is this borderline stupid on my part? Do I have any chance at all? Am I just wasting ~400 USD on these applications in total?)
Hopefuls: UMich, GeorgiaTech
Safeties: UCLA, Penn State, UToronto
Is this feasible at all? If not can you suggest a few realistic options?

Hi there -
I wasn't quite sure where to post this, but "Interdisciplinary" seems like the best place.
I'm a UX researcher/designer with 8 years professional experience. I want to go back to school to learn how to be a tech professional who can support tech companies in creating more ethical products and services. MIT's MS (I'm not interested in PhD) program seems like SUCH a good place to think critically about technology and how it gets made, and experiment with new solutions.
I've looked at other HCI/Information/UX programs, and found that most MS programs don't seem to have the opportunities MIT does. It feels like most of the classes at other programs are tech positive and there's not space to challenge tech and look at it differently.
I'm a non-academic tech worker (not a programmer though, no CS skills here) looking to contribute to a more ethical tech future.
Is anyone in the same boat as me? Or in a boat nearby?

Hi all,
I'm applying to PhD programs for entrance Fall 2020. I'm in the process of narrowing down which programs best suit my research interests, but even after viewing faculty research profiles and general descriptions, I'm having trouble parsing the finer details of each choice from this readily available info, such as, what's it like to be a student there? How strong is their research in the areas I'm interested in? Etc.
My research goal has been the same for the past 20 years: to find a cure for HIV infection... or a vaccine... eventually, both. I had the idea as an undergraduate when I studied Immunology and also took several Calculus courses. I thought, why not approach a cure or vaccine from a mathematical standpoint? What if the biological problem of random mutation (and other issues making HIV hard to eradicate in the body) could be modeled mathematically, then computational methods (data science) and new engineering techniques (such as CRISP-R) could be applied to come up with a solution, or at least a more detailed description of the problem? Giving this info as background to help clarify what I'm looking for, and what programs may be a good fit. Also, in the event that a cure and vaccine are developed, I am still very interested in applying the same principle (mathematical modeling of biological systems and pathology to aid in development of disease treatments) to other areas of medicine.
I have a B.S. in Molecular Biology from Vanderbilt ('01), and an M.A. in Biostatistics from UC Berkeley ('12). I'm a white female, 40 years old - kindly asking please no disparaging comments on my age, I don't care so much that I'm ancient compared to many applicants! I won't go into the finer details of my background, because in this post I am interested in which program would truly be a good research fit, not my chances of getting in (I'll cross that bridge when I come it it - suffice to say, I have the basic prerequisites to apply to all of these programs). I have good research experience, wrote a paper on it for publication (not published... long story), have worked in the health sciences and data science & analytics since I graduated from Berkeley, did outreach work for people living with HIV/AIDS in college, am generally a humanitarian type with a curious, scientific mind, and I LOVE math. Did one year of med school before dropping out due to a serious illness in my early 20's. Since I'm more research-focused, I'd like to get a Ph.D. or an MD/PhD (but, I'd really like to avoid taking the MCAT again, TBH).
The programs I'm curious about are:
1) Harvard-MIT MEMP (this seems a great fit to me, very interested in Arup Chakraborty's work as well as Bruce Walker's)
2) Stanford Biomedical Informatics - seems to be the right program at Stanford for what I'm after, but I also looked at Bioengineering and Immunology... anyone's opinion on these and their fit with my research goals is most welcome!
3) Harvard BIG or BBS - they both look awesome, I can't tell which is a better fit, but possibly BIG... though I like the sound of the interdisciplinary nature of BBS and how much students seem to love that program. That said, the research fit is really the crucial piece.
These are the ones I've looked at but have been unable to really tell which is the best fit. I mention Harvard-MIT MEMP because it seems so ideal for my goals, but I just learned about the program this past year, so I'm curious if anyone has been more involved in it and/or knows what it's like to be a grad student there.
Thank you whoever read this whole thing for your help, I truly appreciate it!! If anyone is a current or past student in any of these programs, I would love to get your perspective. Also, if anyone is a student in a program that would be a great fit based on my research interests, I'd also love to hear about it.

Hi all,
I applied to the Lifelong Kindergarten group at the Media Lab for Fall this year. Just wondering about any insights or experiences about the interview process during Jan/Feb. Potential questions, presentations, etc?
It must be completely different among each group but I'm curious about what other students have to say.

Hi,
I got rejected by my dream program at MIT and I am planning to apply again next cycle. I actually made it to the interviews, but I was rejected after the visit. Does anyone know if it is possible to get an interview again from a program that rejected you after interviews? Will the AO be extra-harsh on your application? Has anyone been in the same scenario before?

Hi guys, this is my first ever post, so I hope to not be doing anything wrong. I am a mechanical engineering undergraduate student from Brazil, and will be applying for graduate school in the US and in Canada for fall 2020 admission. Since the admission process is fairly different from what is done here in my country, I'm not familiar with the credentials that are considered to be good or bad for top schools (I do know, however, that the competition is fierce and sometimes even the best students don't get in), so any advice will be helpful. Here is a brief overview of my CV:
Major: Mechanical Engineering
Undergrad University: Top 30 in Brazil, but I don't know if it is well known internationally
CGPA: 9/10
TOEFL: 110/120
GRE: Haven't taken it yet, but assume that I got stellar results
Research Experience: 2 years at the Fluid Mechanics Lab (Mech Eng department), 3+ years at the Processes and Simulations Lab (Chemical Eng department), 1 year at the Renewable Energy Technology research group (Mech Eng department). PS: I participate simultaneously of these three groups.
Publications:
- Two as second author at an international congress (automated a device that allows for great precision in wind tunnel measurements and helped formulate a new mathematical model for blood flow).
- One as second author at a national congress (had minor impact on this one, just analyzed some data and helped to write the paper).
- One as second author at a respected peer-reviewed journal (submitted) (developed a new technology design that increases the energy output of hydroturbines).
And, if all goes well, by the time I submit my application, I'll have 2-3 more publications (1 of these as first author) at highly regarded journals in my desired field (these publications are related to renewable energy such as hydroturbines and biomass combustion, plus a publication of experimental work that I'm currently carrying out with a masters student).
Accomplishments/Awards:
My CGPA may not seem so great when compared to other students, but in my department I'm ranked in the top 0.01% (yes, that's how they call it haha) of ALL students ever.
Co-founded a research group with my professor.
No awards.
LORs:
One from my long time advisor, who knows me very well and has been a huge part of my research career so far.
One from other professor with whom I also conduct research and also happens to be very close.
One from the department head, from when I took a graduate course in which he was the professor, and had the best grades in class. He also is my co-advisor (Got his PhD from Cornell).
Extracurriculars:
Part of the aerodynamics crew of a SAE aerodesign team.
Was briefly part of the robotics team.
Target schools:
I intend to test my luck and apply to MIT, Stanford, Princeton, Cornell and University of Toronto.
I know that it is impossible to say for sure if a CV is good enough or not since the admissions process is a crapshoot most of the time, but I would like to know your honest opinion based on your experiences. Thank you for your time.

Hello everyone!
I am new in this Forum so I don't exactly know how it works... But anyway, I am going to explain my situation and see if I can get any help (which I would really appreciate).
I am planning to apply to my PhD this fall as an international student. I am from Europe and I did my bachelor there. It is my first time ever applying to an American university, so any advice would be helpful.
- Bachelor/Masters in Pharmacy (I put Masters because it takes 5 years, it is considered Bachelor+Master in Europe, and I have a paper that gives it the academic equivalence to Doctor of Pharmacy in the US, if that works). My GPA is 7.1/10. I know. Everyone is going to think that is really low, but in Europe and in pharmacy school, nobody has a GPA of 9/10, for example. So mine is pretty good at my university. I also have honors in my final thesis (cancer-related) and it is considered the best thesis of my promotion.
- Research experience: one semester as an undergrad (around 25 h per week), 6 month as an exchange student in America (no classes, just research), currently doing research in one of the Top20 Universities in the U.S. (not an Ivy, but ranked better than most of them). By the time I apply my experience in this last university will be of 1 year but by the time I start my PhD it would be of 2 years.
- Other experience: 1 year as a retail pharmacist, 6 month internship as a clinical pharmacist in a Hospital in Europe.
- Publications: 3 posters (2 Top European conferences and 1 at the university that I am working in right now) but no PubMed publications...
- Speaker at one conference.
- Lots of volunteering in Heathcare.
I also just got a 6-month fellowship (cancer-related) from a really prestigious foundation, only 27 people in the U.S got it and it was one per institution.
TOEFL: I took it a while ago and I got a 104, the minimum required is 100 in most Ivys, maybe I will retake it if I have time.
GRE: Haven't taken it yet but I am currently studying for it, I am planning to take it in one month.
GRE Biology: is it worth taking it?
I wanted to apply to Ivy leagues and high-ranked universities for my PhD in Cancer Biology, but I also want to be realistic and know honest opinions as if I stand any chance to get in.
Thank you!

(1)Third year CS major in a US university(on the boundary of top 20...), will apply for PhD during my senior year
(2)Took GRE once during my second year, and got 160 on reading, 168 on math, and 3.5 on writing
(2)Expected GPA during application:3.75/4(our school doesn’t have grade inflation)
(3)Since I’m interested in theoretical CS, I’ve taken a lot more upper division math classes than required, and a few CS grad classes related to my area of interest(got As in all of them)
(4)One year of research experience(no publications yet), 1 internship experience
(5)Will get 1-2 strong recommendations from big names in my interested field
(6)Haven’t even thought about the SOP yet. Any suggestion on how to start is welcomed!
Honestly what do you think is my possibility of getting into my top tier schools(e.g. Stanford, MIT, CMU, Berkeley) and lower tier schools(e.g. UWash, Umich, Cornell...)

Hello,
I was admitted to EE MS/ Ph.D. program (Systems track, information theory, system control etc. ) of a good university. However, I would prefer to quit after finishing MS degree, and apply to MIT & Stanford's Ph.D. I talked to my professor, and my professor told me that it will be harder to get admitted with a master degree. Also, I was told that it is impossible to be admitted by MIT after finishing masters. I think it might be because MIT prefers to admitted students from undergrad so that they could cultivate students from the beginning to the end. However, I would still like to ask if my chance would be really small to get admitted with a master degree? Does it worth a try?
Thank you so much for your time!

I'm curious what are the backgrounds of students in either MIT or Harvard's philosophy PhD programs? Are there any students with non-philosophy, creative, or interdisciplinary backgrounds? MIT is consistently ranked as a top Feminist Philosophy program, however I did not see many students working in that field on their website. Thoughts on the climates of both of these departments?

Hi, everyone. I haven't seen a post regarding the MIT Media Lab application this year, so this topic is for all candidates to share.
On 6th Jan, my online portfolio had 7 visitors from MIT (Google analytics), averagely staying on 10 minutes (from 1st Dec to present, 16 visitors totally). But I haven't received an interview invitation email yet. Based on the previous years' results, it seems that interview is essential, and I just saw a single post on the Results Panel "Accepted via phone after two rounds of interviews. Very excited!", then it means that someone already got an offer, right?
I was in the Open House 2nd Oct, and the following information is what I have picked up:
Conformable Decoders: Canan's group is a science-core one, and it would be more competitive with a materials background (I remember that David mentioned some transplant project with the BGH), so I didn't choose it since it is not a match for me.
Responsive Environment: For now, all students are at PhD level and no Master students there, still, 0-2 places.
Any additional information would be appreciated (but please do mention your fields of interest, it might be beneficial for others or further applicants). Best wishes for you all.

Hello all,
just wanted to ask how competitive are the summer research schools to get into, where once accepted they pay for your stay, and food. They also comprise of lectures and projects that people work on as groups. An example of these summer schools are the dynamic brain summer school at the Washington University, or the Cold spring harbor schools, or the center for brains, minds and machines summer schools.
Thank you in advance

I am trying to decide between a funded masters in mechanical engineering at MIT or a PhD in Robotics at Georgia Tech (I received a fellowship). Any advice on which would be better for getting an industry job in robotics? I realize I could always do the master's at MIT and continue for my PhD later but I am worried about being successful at MIT based on how difficult it is. It might just be impostor syndrome but I am shocked I even got into MIT and would probably be at the bottom of the intelligence spectrum there.